The present disclosure is directed generally to heat exchangers, and more specifically, to heat exchangers with evaporative-cooling enhancement.
In environmental control systems (“ECS's”), heat exchangers are used to cool air by transferring heat to another fluid (liquid or gaseous). In some existing ECS's, water is sprayed on the heat exchanger to increase cooling by adding evaporative cooling. The spraying of water is typically performed using spray nozzles external to the heat exchanger that partially block the airflow, and distribute the water in uneven and inconsistent spray patterns, coupling the water's path through the heat exchanger to the air flow path, leading to non-adjustable water impingement and inefficient evaporative cooling properties. These external spray nozzles couple the water's delivery to the air flow path, which is not optimal to target the water to specific hotspots in the heat exchanger.